NEEPAWA, Man. — Located at the northern edge of Nebraska sits the village of Cody. Home to 150 residents, Cody is also home to something extremely unique, Circle C. At first glance, it appears to be like any other grocery store, except that it’s run by the students at nearby Cody-Kilgore High School.

The idea of opening a store to be run as part of the school’s curriculum was first conceived in 2008, when the town had been without a grocery store for about a decade. Until the Circle C opened in 2013, area residents had to drive either 55 miles west or 38 miles east to buy any of their groceries.

NEEPAWA, Man. — Nothing quite beats the sense of community in rural Canada. I had two reminders of this in the last week.

Like many rural Manitobans, I’m involved in a couple of local organizations and one, in particular, the Roxy Theatre, found itself in need of help on short notice. Our shows are volunteer-run and on this one day, our crew was coming from out of town and it was storming.

Guest are welcomed by people in Facebook shirts as they arrive at a Facebook Canadian Summit in Toronto on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Donovan)

You can’t believe everything you see on the internet, we’ve known that for a long time. However, maybe it’s time to question whether you can believe anything on the internet? Since 2012, Imperva Incapsula, an online security firm, has published an annual report on bot traffic. Between 2012 and 2016, bots were responsible for more traffic than humans, four out of five years.

Bots aren’t inherently bad. Any program that runs automated tasks over the internet is considered a bot. Like any tool, they can be used for good or bad purposes.

News Highlights

NEEPAWA, Man. — From farm to fork, a lot of food is lost along the journey. A recently released study found that close to 60 percent of food produced in Canada is wasted. Not only was the sheer amount surprising, so too was the source of that waste. Previously, consumers were believed to be the major contributors to food waste, but that might not be the case.

While previous research has looked into food waste in Canada, it hasn’t been able to examine the problem throughout the production chain, instead, relying on estimates. This report, called the Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste, was able to work with companies along the value chain to get accurate measures of food waste, in weight. They were also able to interview more than 700 food industry experts to better understand why food never makes it to consumers’ plates. The study’s lead author was Martin Gooch, the chief executive of Value Chain Management International, who has authored other studies on this topic, including those that previously found consumers to be responsible for most food waste. Second Harvest, a food charity, partnered with Gooch on the study.

NEEPAWA, Man. — Sometimes it’s easy to forget, but the livestock sector doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Producers were reminded of that late last year when new regulations came into effect regarding the purchase of antimicrobials, commonly known as antibiotics.

Starting December 1, 2018, the way in which Canadian livestock producers can purchase medically important antibiotics changed. While in the past, producers could buy some antibiotics, such as penicillin or tetracycline, at their local farm supply store, they’ll now need a prescription from a licensed veterinarian in order to purchase these commonly used medications. The changes are part of federal legislation aimed at helping to curb antibiotic resistance.

NEEPAWA, Man. — Our future is connected, but Canadians outside urban centres are already being left behind. Rural residents know a thing or two about poor cell service, but the problem is even worse when it comes to rural broadband. Despite a 2016 promise to close the digital divide that separates those with access to cheap and plentiful broadband internet from those without, the Trudeau government has done little to make this a reality.

Broadband internet is woven into our lives and those who don’t have access to it are at a measurable disadvantage. For rural and remote Canadians, broadband internet can lessen the disadvantages of living outside a major centre. A community might not have local access to a medical specialist, but broadband makes services like Telehealth possible. Broadband can allow students to learn from teachers far from their communities, whether it’s in a classroom setting or on their own. Broadband allows small businesses to punch above their weight, selling to those around the world. Broadband allows rural Canadians to make informed decisions.

WestJet planes are seen at the Calgary Airport in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 10, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

NEEPAWA, Man. — Air travel is something many Canadians dread. While travellers may be excited to reach their destinations, the process of getting there — which involves the general feeling that you’re no longer being treated as a human — isn’t part of that excitement. That could be changing.

This past May, the federal government opened consultations on a new bill of rights for air passengers and on December 17, Transport Minister Marc Garneau unveiled the proposed new rules. The rules will apply to flights departing or arriving in Canada and are expected to be in effect this summer. The actual document outlining passengers’ specific rights will be developed by the regulatory body that hears complaints from passengers, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

NEEPAWA, Man. — When the federal or provincial governments look at agriculture in the context of emissions and carbon taxes, it’s usually seen as a contributor. It’s true that agriculture is a consumer of fossil fuels — burned in tractors and combines or to heat greenhouses — but those in the industry also know that agriculture is on the other side of the equation. According to the 2016 Census of Agriculture, there were 159 million acres in agricultural production, giving farmers a huge role to play in activities like carbon sequestration and managing or mitigating the effects of more severe weather.

We haven’t seen the positive role the industry can play really talked about at the national level, until now. Earlier this month, a Canadian Senate report was released, called “Feast or Famine.” The 11 senators who formed the committee studied how Canada’s efforts to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target might affect the country’s agriculture, agri-food and forestry sectors. The final report included 16 recommendations.